We will be joined in Ghana by George Amuasi (Tema); Ernest Apeadu (Tema); Edward Owusu-Ansah (Kpone); Edward Quansah (Boadua); Paul & Matilda Addo (Ashaiman); Emmanuel Cobbinah (Takoradi); Niipaak Laar (Saboda). In addition, once we arrive in the north we will be joined by several brethren from the Yendi Mission Clinic who will assist us in conducting the mobile clinics.

This year we will be flying Lufthansa through Frankfurt. Lufthansa was the only airline that had enough available space for our entire group to fly over together. This will be a new route for us. We will all meet up at Dulles International in Washington DC. From there we will fly to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt we will fly to Lagos, Nigeria for a short stopover before flying on into Ghana. We will arrive in Ghana at 5:25 pm on Friday, July 8th. (Ghana is 4 hours ahead of us here in the EST.) After our arrival at Kotoka International Airport we will have about a 30 minute drive to Tema.

We are fortunate to have a number of young people in our group this year. Trisha, Beth, Martha & Chris are students at Freed Hardeman University. Troy, Lauren, Kristen, Max & Tanika are High School students. On Saturday, July 9, we will be conducting a Youth Seminar for the churches in Tema vicinity. In addition to the Youth Seminar we are arranging for our young people to visit a number of schools while they are in Ghana. This will give our young people a chance to teach and interact directly with young people throughout Ghana. (@ 50% of Ghana’s population is under the age of 20!)

First thing Sunday morning, I will be off with Paul Addo to preach on the church of Christ radio program. The program is on the popular Adom FM from 5:30-6:00 every Lord’s Day. This program reaches millions of people throughout southern Ghana. This has encouraged hundreds and hundreds of people to visit churches of Christ in their area—many of which have subsequently learned the truth and have been baptized into Christ. With the new budget in Ghana we have recently learned that the annual cost of the radio program has gone from $5,200/year to $10,000/year. Therefore we are needing $5,000 to finish up our current year and will have to raise the additional $100/week to keep the program on the air.

Following the radio program we will divide our group up and worship with a number of churches in and around Tema: Vertical Centre, Accra Rd, Kpone, Haana & Dawhenya. I first met with the church at Vertical Centre back in 1980. The Accra Rd. church was started back in 1982 and the Kpone church began meeting in 1985. Since that time the Kpone church has established the churches in Haana and Dawhenya. (As we meet with various congregations there will be an opportunity for all to work. Our young people can teach classes for children, our men will be teaching and preaching, and there are ladies classes planned for our ladies to teach.) In the afternoon we will meet for a fellowship meal and orientation. Sunday night we will again visit area churches.

Monday, July 11, we will begin our trip to the Northern Region. This year we will be renting a bus for our campaign group and a truck to haul the couple tons of supplies we will need while in the north (food; medicines, equipment, etc.). It is a hard 12 hr trip from Tema on the coast to Yendi in the Northern Region. We will spend the night in Yendi.

Tuesday, July 12, we will drive from Yendi to Bunkpurugu (@ 85 miles & 3 1/2 hrs driving). We will spend the next several days in Bunkpurugu working in surrounding areas. Tuesday evening we will meet with the Gbetimong church. This is the church we established during our visit last year. There has now been 117 baptized and over 200 in attendance each Lord’s Day. For the past few months they have been working to erect a building which should be having the roof put on as I write. While we are there we will be working to strengthen the church and its leadership. We will also take an afternoon and help them paint their new building.

July 31 * Radio Program, 5:30-6:00 amAM: Worship with area churchesPM: Depart for homeAug 3 Arrive in the States

Wednesday through Friday we will be conducting mobile clinics during the day and street preaching each night. Wednesday we will be working at Gbetimong. We will also be visiting the local chief and the well that is being drilled this month. (Note: there are hundreds of villages in northern Ghana without safe drinking water. For $4500 we can provide a community with pure safe water to drink.) Thursday we will be working in Tojing. Last year we had scheduled a clinic at Tojing but due to a heavy rainstorm the clinic was cancelled. So we want to make sure to work this area into our schedule this year. On Friday, we will be conducting the clinic in a village a few miles from Gbetimong. They recently contacted bro. Niipaak and asked if we could come and preach Jesus to them. In addition to the clinic, we will also conduct street preaching there Friday and Saturday night.

On Sunday morning, 17th, we will divide ourselves up and worship with the various churches in that area. In the evening we will be conducting street preaching.

On Monday, 18th, we will be driving from Bunkpurugu to Saboda. Recently bro. Niipaak moved to Saboda to work with the churches in that area and be a bit closer to the work in Bunkpurugu. After meeting with the church Saboda we will drive on to Yendi.

On Tuesday, 19th, we will have another long day of travel and will drive from Yendi to Mole (@ 10 hrs). We will spend two nights here and on Thursday morning we will get up early and drive back to Tema (@ 9 hrs).

On Friday, 22nd, we take the group into Accra for some shopping and to help some of our group get ready for their return trip to the States. Friday night we will meet with area churches. On Saturday, eight of the group will head back to States.

Sunday, 24th, we will be worshiping with churches in the Tema area.

Monday-Wednesday, 25-27, we will be traveling to and working with churches in the Eastern Region. On Thursday, we will drive back to Tema.

On Friday, 29, we will drive to Feta and visit the Village of Hope Orphanage—overseen by the elders at Vertical Centre (Tema). In addition to providing homes and schooling for orphans—VOH also provides assistance and counseling for a number of “street children”. Recently they have added a clinic to help care for the medical needs of the children. On Saturday, we will be packing and getting ready for our departure on Sunday.

On Sunday morning, 31, we will worship with the Tema churches before departing for home late that afternoon.

Below is a list of estimated expenses for Campaign 2005. Our tickets are purchased (and most of the funds for air travel have already been raised) If you would like to help with this year’s campaign please send all contributions and or packages to:

STEARSMAN
REPORTReporting
on the Lord's Work in Eastern Ghana, May 2005

I am writing to thank you for supporting us
in the work in Ghana, Africa and to update you on your efforts
in carrying out the great commission. We were able to do much
good in sowing the seed of the kingdom of Christ. It is rewarding
to be able to go and to do the work. The five brothers who made
the trip to Ghana were: Bob Bauer, Chad Tagtow, Brian Kenyon,
Jim Hall, and myself. After 18 days abroad, we returned to our
families.

I want to assure you that your monies were
put to good work. Besides the funds to conduct the various campaigns,
we were able to leave funds for a yearlong radio program in the
Ada region. This is an important effort to strengthen the church
in these areas. The two ministers (Addo and Albert) conducting
the program are grounded in the faith and will make sincere efforts
to teach the lost in their own language.

The first Sunday we witnessed four souls being
baptized into Christ at various congregations. The Ghanaians
work hard at personal work and we are grateful to witness the
baptisms.

Pram Pram Leadership Lectureship

Monday, May 23, started our Leadership Lectureship
in Pram Pram. Ministers and elders and those who lead in other
aspects of the church were present for the teaching. In Ghana
many churches, in fact most, do not have elders. The church is
relatively young in Ghana. The people are very evangelistic and
many start sending men to start new congregations before they
have elders. The way they conduct business without elders differs
from the way congregation in the US conduct business. Whereas
we would have a business meeting of men in the congregations,
the Ghanaians appoint certain male "church leaders" who
function in various capacities. A congregation without elders
may have a finance leader and other various types of leaders.
These various leaders meet and work through certain decisions
of the congregation. While the "church leaders" mentality
may serve the young congregation well, we made a point to emphasize
that God chose elders to lead the local congregation. We emphasized
that congregations should not be content with "church leaders" to
the neglect of appointing qualified men.

The lectureship was well received by the brothers.
Often missionaries come and emphasize needed first principles.
First principles are vital to the church, but as congregations
age and hunger for spiritual meat, lectureships
of this nature will be needed to strengthen an edify church.

In the evenings we would meet with the brethren
for a lesson from God's word. We were able to conduct Bible Studies.
One brother came to me for a request to study with a lady (Bridget)
on instrumental music. She was Methodist and we were successful
in showing her the more perfect way concerning instrumental music.

We also had an opportunity to meet with another
lady (Francis) to teach her the plan of salvation. Francis is
the mother of Doris, a young lady who helped out in the kitchen.
The conversion of souls in personal work sometimes occurs one
soul at time. There are challenges that all face in becoming
Christians. We have to teach them more perfectly some of those
things that they have been indoctrinated with denominationalism.
We pray for their conversions.

The Clinic in Dawa

Thursday, May 26, we began our work in Dawa
in the mobile medical clinic. A Ghanaian sister, Helen Marfo,
is a prior nurse and practicing midwife. She was integral to
the success of the clinic. We employed the services of another
nurse and a physician to help in the treatment. Medications were
purchased from a brother in Accra who allowed the purchasing
at wholesale prices. Several hundred patients over the two-day
period. Malaria, intestinal worms, "waist pains" (inflammation
disorders), upper respiratory infections, and ear infections
were treated. Many are farmers and masons working with their
hands. Their bodies hurt - "waist pains". Many of the
villagers drink the water from the river and develop various
disorders. The doctor observed many eye disorders that she believed
could be attributed to the water. Several important public health
issues were addressed. If the people had a deep well source they
could get sanitary water. Perhaps we can fill this need in the
future. For now, we emphasized boiling the water to prevent various
water borne diseases. It is now the rainy season in Ghana, so
we emphasized the need to eliminate standing water, use mosquito
netting, and sprays to reduce the incidence of Malaria. Malaria
kills many children.

Many of the patients that were seen were Muslims,
but they are not militant. These individuals would be preached
to as the clinic would go on and we would address the community
in the evenings via street preaching in the village. Chad, Jim,
and Brian each conducted the services in the evenings.

Sunday May 29, we were at various congregations
preaching. I preached at Bediku and we met back at Aveyime for
lunch. That afternoon we traveled to a village to meet with a
fetish priest that Bob Bauer has been working with for several
years. Bob discussed with him the difference in his god verse
the true God. Enclosed you will find a picture of the idol that
is part of his worship. This is a concrete structure with a bucket
and a knife in the middle of the bucket. They pour libations
to the idol. The room smelled of alcohol. Ironically, in the
rear of the room on the wall was a calendar with a depiction
of Jesus.

That evening we were able to meet with the
church in Dawenya. We left funds with the congregation last year
for purchasing land for a building. They currently meet in a
school house. I preached that evening with the aid of three kerosene
lanterns. Brian Kenyon pointed my flashlight (what Ghanaians
call "torch light") at the chalk board as I wrote various
points.

Evangelism in Adafoah

Monday, May 30, began our work in Adafoah.
We continued the work that Bob and Jim began last year. The congregations
need to be rooted and grounded. The work is so rewarding. Fifteen
men from various congregations joined us to aid in doing personal
work in the daytime. In the evening we set up a PA system in
a common area and would show a portion of a Jesus film and then
one of us would street preach. Monday we were rained out. Tuesday
and Wednesday night we preached and Thursday evening we met with
the new converts. We estimate that there were 160 contacts made
with many bible studies. Follow-up will be important to stabilizing
the new converts and teaching those who are lost. There are hungry
men who will follow-up on many of these contacted. We wished
there was more time to follow-up on studies with specific individuals
we had.

Personal work is so rewarding. The imagery
of the parable of the sower was so vivid. I worked with Christopher
Letsa. Our studies initially started with a young lady in a small
market kiosk. She was conducting business but welcomed our presence
to study the word of God. She realized what she needed to do
to be saved, but wanted to discuss it with her father before
she obeyed the gospel. Following this, we had a study with five
individuals of differing backgrounds and faiths. Our wish is
that we could have followed up with them more. The local brethren
will have to continue what time would not permit. John, one of
the five we had met with earlier, we met for a second time. He
understood the importance of being added to the one true church,
but wanted to wait and think about it. As we left John, one man
in the village (Bismark) pulled us aside into a corridor for
a Bible study. He spoke English well and was sincere about studying
the word of God. Two more men walked in while the study was proceeding.
God be thanked, as we witnessed all three of these men being
baptized.

Thursday, we attempted to find Cynthia, one
of the five we had contacted on Tuesday. We walked all over trying
to find her. We were persistent in finding her. While we walked
a man joined us (Chris and myself) to help us along the way to
find where she was. There were some problems with the house numbering
she had given us (apparently the houses are transitioning the
numbering system). As we waited for a cab, I told Chris we should
study with this man. We did so under a tree and Gideon was baptized
for the remission of his sins.

From our best estimates through the efforts
of many 160 contacts were made and 14 souls were added to Christ
in Ada-Foah. There were 20 total baptisms among the areas we
preached while we in Ghana. There were numerous contacts made,
bible studies started and studies that need to continue. Our
prayer is that this small group will continue to grow in the
faith and that they in turn will teach others also.

Village of Hope

On Friday we visited the Village of Hope. The
Village consists of an orphanage, school and clinic. It is supported
by churches of Christ. We donated the remaining medications from
our Dawa Clinic to the clinic. Their efforts are impressive.
The orphanage receives no government funding and the churches
in Ghana are not able to provide much cash for them, but they
do provide food, soap, and supplies. Currently, there are 78
children in residence. This is not a nationally advertised orphanage.
They receive the children either from the police or from congregations
of the church throughout the country. For a child to be accepted
into the orphanage, need must be established and they must have
sufficient space for them. The orphanage was started in 1989
and folded. It was started again in 1996 and moved to the current
location in 1999. There are 51 foster children who receive food,
clothing, medication and education. There are 80 street teens
that are cared for receiving two meals four times per week. They
have house parents that stay on the grounds. Currently, two more
houses are being built to accommodate the children. They go to
great efforts to make their lives similar to other Ghanaian children.
They shut off the tap water from time to time to make the children
gather water similar to other children in the villages. The children
are responsible for planting and harvesting crops. They have
chores that are assigned.

It was evident that the leadership goes to
great distances to cut cost and be good stewards. They grow food;
raise chickens and sell the eggs; and have their own system for
making block for the buildings (instead of purchasing the block).

The school has an enrollment of roughly 260
students. They come from nearby villages and receive 30 minutes
of bible study in chapel daily and one hour on Wednesday. Souls
have been added to the church through these studies.

We had concern as to the quality of the teaching
that goes on at the home. People visit this orphanage from differing
congregations and educational institutions in the US. With the
liberal leaning of some our Universities we wondered if the children
were being indoctrinated with false teaching. They informed us
that when missionaries come they are not placed in a primary
teaching role. My impression was that anyone may come and observe,
but one must be proven before they are put them into a teaching
role. This shows their good judgment.

Final Days

Our trip concluded with a trip to El Mina Castle.
This was once the largest center of slave deportation in Africa.
The horrible conditions and treatment were sobering. What the
Pyramids are to Egypt, El Mina is to Africa.

Saturday we went to the cultural center in
Accra for some souvenirs. Our day ended with a Bible study back
in Pram Pram. Chad and I wanted to give Doris a net ball (basketball).
We took it to her home and on the way back we stopped at Bridget's
(the one we had studied instrumental music with). Chad and I
had one last study with her on the one true church and the need
for baptism (not sprinkling) into that one church. She was baptized
into Christ that very night in the ocean with 2-4 foot seas.

Sunday, the day we left, I preached in Dawa,
where we had the clinic. The people were few due to the rains.
We summonsed the brethren for Bible study and worship. The fact
that the Bible was written for all people for all times was vivid
that morning. One individual asked how do I answer people who
want to know the whereabouts of our earthly headquarters. We
emphasized that they had nothing to be ashamed of in the fact
that the headquarters of Christ church is in Heaven. We attempted
to emphasize that Christ's kingdom is not of this world; and
that he is the head of His church; the one that He will save;
those whom He adds. They struggle with the same issues we do.
We say we are the one true church, yet our buildings are smaller
and our funds are limited compared to large denominational infrastructures.
The truth is we are converted to Christ, not the buildings of
this world and fickleness of man. The world would say the one
true church should be housed in a large elaborate structure.
Jesus says His kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). We can
never loose sight of the truth that we are committed and converted
to Him, not to people, not to things. If we remember this truth,
it will not discourage us when the next denomination builds a
bigger building and the next denomination builds a bigger building.
Eventually, these structures will fall. His word will last forever
(Mt. 24:35).

Let me conclude by thanking you for making
this trip a reality. First Samuel 30:24 (NASB) states, "And
who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who
goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the
baggage; they shall share alike." There were many, including
you, that shared in carrying the baggage in the US and in Ghana.
The Ghanaian women and others worked relentlessly in laundry
and food preparation. Our loyal wives stayed home and took care
of children and things at home. We thank you in sharing our burden
and look forward to heaven when you can meet these precious souls
face to face.

In Christ, Daniel Stearsman
June 9, 2005

PHOTO GALLERYClick Photos for Larger View

An idol belonging to a Fetish
Priest.

Children in Bediku

The Lord giveth the increase

(Note: There
is no large photo here)

Children at Aveyime Church
while Bob was in a Face to Face discussion.

Donations of Kash N' Karry
Raisins used in Communion Preparations

Bob Bauer Checking Temperature/
BP.

Signs

A Ghanain Kitchen.
Note:
No Kenmore Appliances.

Mud huts

Mud huts

Ted

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

In Yendi, the group visited the leprosy
center where we have four brothers in Christ. One had recently
died and they distributed some food and money to help them
out.

They were then able to visit a church run
clinic and see how it operated. This is also where they picked
up all of the medications, that had been purchased, that
would be needed for the mobile clinics to be conducting
this week.

They then visited a center for malnourished
children and were also able to go over and talk to the well
drilling team.

They then left Yendi for Bunkpurugu but
along the way were misdirected and ended up headed for
Togo.
They corrected their course but because of the heavy rains,
the bus slipped off the road and got stuck in the mud. All
had to get out and push, along with the help of some twenty
villagers.

When finally arriving at Bunkpurugu, they
were pleasantly surprised to find very nice accommodations
(for the area). The "motel" had been updated with
a toilet, a shower and a solar powered fluorescent light
in every room. They had two or three people to a room and
although there was no running water, at least they could
take a bucket
bath in semi-privacy.

In the evening, they headed out to do street
preaching but heavy rains forced them to cancel. They turned
around and started back to the motel, but in the rain, the
clay road had become very slick and they lost control of
the bus, ended up sideways on the road and stuck in the mud
again.
They all had to get back out into the rain and mud, and push
the bus most of the way back.

They did make it back safely though and
everyone was getting ready for bed; exhausted, but doing
well.
Tomorrow, they get up and start all over again.

Ted

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Ted called and said they had a good day.
No getting stuck in the mud.

They visited a school and
interacted with the children and made a donation to their
building program. Later they showed the Jesus film and
Patrick Ford (Renee's brother) delivered a sermon. Four
responded and requested baptism but there was no water
available at that location. They are coming tomorrow to
the compound and the group will take them for baptism.

Daniel Stearsman isn’t feeling well, upset stomach
and a low grade fever. Malaria’s incubation time
is a minimum of eight days but they decided to go ahead
and treat it as malaria just in case. It could be just
the good ol’ American flu.

Ted

Thursday- Saturday, July 15-17, 2004

We
thank Renee Wheeler for forwarding this report
she received on Saturday morning (July 17).

Ted called and reports that they
have been very busy and running on three hours of sleep
a night.
They
are having problems keeping all of their battery operated
stuff charged -- which also includes their satellite phone.

Since talking to me last, they have gone
to the well that the ladies from Orange St. sent money
for. They poured the concrete to finish it off and met
the chief of the community. The group offered the chief,
who is over 90, a seat in the air-conditioned bus while
they were there and gave him a baggie of trail mix. He
really enjoyed that.

The next day, yesterday, they had a clinic
where they treated @ 150-200 people. The chief showed up
again and asked Patrick for more trail mix. There was another
chief there and so the two of them had trail mix and peanut
butter crackers. Such simple things and yet so meaningful.

There was a Ghanaian sister bitten by
a viper and she was taken to a hospital a few hours away
to be treated with the anti-venom.

Last night they had street preaching
after showing the Jesus video. Brother Daniel Stearsman
preached and Ted said that he did a wonderful job. There
were 34 responses. They went a mile or two and dug out
a place where there was shallow water to make it deep enough
for baptism. What a wonderful day!

Daniel is feeling all better and everyone
else is well. Today they were supposed to have another
clinic but it was rained out. They will use the day to
mingle with the townspeople and introduce themselves to
the local marketplace and the people there. This morning
Ted and Niipak went to check on the sister who was bitten
by the snake and to pay her medical bills. Anti-venom is
expensive and thankfully God provided help for this Christian
sister, not only physically and spiritually, but also monetarily.
The sister was one of seven snake bite victims and was
doing better than the others and is expected to be fine.

God truly watches over us. Thank you
all for giving so generously this year. Things like this
come up every year and sometimes we had needs that we just
could not meet. With all of us doing what we can and being
willing to help when able,we glorify God and Jesus and
the church that he died for.

Please continue to keep them all in your
prayers.

Ted

As reported by Daniel Stearsman on
his return home. Ted is still in Ghana.

Monday, July 19, 2004

This was the second of our clinic days. Saturday the 17th
got rained out. This was a far better experience than the
first clinic. We wisened up a little in our procedure.

The first clinic held on the prior Friday (7/16) was a nightmare. The people
were pressing on top of us. We could hardly hear. We were cut off from the
breeze, due to the crowds. It was to end at 3 PM, but we didn't leave till
after 4PM. It was held outside under a tree in Gbetimong (pronounced Beta-mong).
But, the well drilling in this village, plus the clinic had a great impact
we believe on the gospel. That night when we preached there were probably 300-500
people who watched the film and heard the gospel. That night there were 34
baptisms and the following Sunday, 11 more. This clinic ended up seeing 132
patients.This clinic was
held in a school house in the village of Gbingbani (??) (pronounced
Bing-Bon- nee). This was a far more efficient clinic. We
had rope and crowd control in place and were able to see
286 patients (418 total). You didn't have to be medically
trained to have an impact. We needed the help of all the
group. Some were prepackaging malaria treatments. Some were
dealing with the crowds (and those who would cunningly try
to push to the front). There was a job for everyone. There
were wounds that needed attention, candy to give away. It's
difficult to imagine a medical environment such as Bunkpurugu
(of which Gbingbani is a village). Bunkpurugu is a large
community of 100,000 people including all these villages.
For that community, there are few medically trained. There
was 1 medic (the medical director with whom we worked) and
we heard of another medically trained individual (who was
reportedly a drunk!). The fact that there may be 1-3 other
individuals who practice medicine (in the manner as the medic)
for this entire population is unbelievable by our standards.
All complicated matters are sent to Yendi hospital, which
is a 2-3 hour journey away over rough terrain. There is no
guarantee that you will be treated efficiently or effectively
when you get to Yendi. As frustrated as we get with our Medical
treatments (dealing with HMO's, long wait times, scheduling
MD appointments, etc.), at least it is somewhat accessible
to us. Most of the patients that we saw where treated for
malaria, parasitic worms, skin infections, some ophthalmic
infections, malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, protein deficiency,
and inflammatory disorders (which were often described as "waist
pain", likely from carrying heavy object on there heads/backs
for years over long distances). The people were tremendously
greatful! It's hard to tell the impact of the clinic on the
community, since we were there so briefly. What we do know
is that the people are aware of who we are as Christians
and are exposed to the benevolence of Christ offered by the
clinic. Many missionaries (denominational or otherwise) do
not venture this far North because it such an extreme experience.
The impact of the clinic and the growth of the church in
that area we may never know this side of eternity. We pray
that it's impact may continue.

Daniel

Tuesday, July 20, 2004We traveled from Bunkpurgu back
to Yendi, where we dropped the medications back off,
along with the generator and
headed to Mole (where the game reserve is). What a refreshing
experience -- rooms with running water, and toilets that
filled themselves (if the water was on), and AC (ahhh!).
Although, our AC unit sounded like it was giving birth
at different times throughout the night! We found no other
small AC units in the morning! Ha!! We ate a restaurant
at the reserve. The menu was comical. There was a pretty
extensive menu listed (and we had notions of home). But
basically what available was chicken and rice or rice and
chicken or guinea fowl. Although there were Yam fries.
We were thankful for the AC, food, and to be somewhere
closer to home in our "time machine".

Daniel

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

We spent Wednesday in the game reserve at Mole. We were
greated by baboons in the morning, who are not shy of coming
up to you and taking any food items you may have. We observed
multiple elephants, gazelle, wart hogs, and many dearlike
animals (where hunters like Ted salivated). The proximity
to the elephants (and our guide cocking his gun, while
telling us to retreat) was most exhillerating. We were
in their home.

Daniel

Thursday, July 22, 2002

We traveled back to Tema where we stayed at Earnest Apeadu's
house.

Daniel

Friday, July 23, 2002

We went to High street in Accra (the big market center
for souvenirs). I got to spend much of the day with Bob
and Jim and enjoyed the fellowship and sharing war stories.
I thought Bob was going to beat up his navigation crew!!

Daniel

Saturday, July 24, 2002

We traveled to Elmina castle (a center for slave trade
from the mid 1600s on) and to the swinging bridges. Elmina
was a humbling experience as 2/3 of the slaves died. The
only hope a woman had of being free was to be impregnated
by the governor, to have the child, and then she would
be set free. Refusal of the governor's sexual advances
placed the subject in the courtyard where they were made
a public example by being chained to a canon ball for 24
hours. Men who attempted to rebel were often put in solitary
confinement where starved to death.

Daniel

Sunday, July 25, 2002

We divided up and went to various
congregations. Ted let me do the radio program Sunday
AM. That was first for me.
He said that there could have been 1.5-2 million Ghanaians
listening. The FM station reaches far throughout the country.
I was sent with 2 other sisters to the Lebanon Rd church
of Christ. The singing was amazing. Many of the questions
that the brethren are likeour own. They asked about the
impact of culture on worship. Irony peaked when one brother
asked a question about the final state of those individuals
in the villages of Ghana who had never heard the gospel
or who had heard and obeyed a perverted form. I tried to
teach them that God's provision of salvation exists only
in Christ, that all are ameniable (even those in the villages)
to Christ and His teaching, that Biblcally ignorance does
not excuse a person, lest one be saved by a means other
than Christ (thus God let Him see corruption when salvation
was available by other means). The irony was "thick" in
that here (in to us -- are the remote regions of the earth)
they were asking the same question. While those who have
perverted His gospel are numerous, this question makes
me wonder if the "remote regions" are more places
in our minds than in reality. It is comforting to know
that although these brethren are 8000 miles away from us,
they are not that different from us in the questions and
struggles they have. My appreciation for our brethren of
Christ has grown immensely. I do not hesitate to say that
the greatest individuals who walk this earth are members
of the Lord's body, His Church. I am thankful to be associated
with them. While to the Ghanaians we are a tremendous source
of encouragement and strength, we were the ones who seemed
encouraged most. Our association with the Ghanaians and
their great warmth made us long for eternity-- to know
them better, to enjoy there fellowship, and to endlessly
commune with God.

What a blessing it was to be in Ghana!

From here we would have lunch and get ready for our long journey home.

Daniel

"Thank you", to all who encourage us, pray for us and support us in this work. As we work together - it is my prayer that God will bless our efforts richly to His glory and the saving of many souls.